Cooper, Robertson & Partners Architecture, Urban Design

Shingle House

East Hampton, New York

Completed in 1979, this modern rendition of the traditional East End beach cottage uses materials and forms true to the vernacular but in a fresh architectural aesthetic. The house has dual, parallel stairs – one inside the house and one outside - giving access to second floor living spaces and an upper porch from which there are views of the nearby dunes and ocean. The ground floor has an open kitchen-dining-living arrangement with a guest bedroom and bath plus a room for children with built-in bunk beds and a shared bath. The Master Suite occupies the second floor along with the main living space and outdoor porch. From the master suite, a stair gains access to a third story outdoor observation deck – the modern day equivalent of the traditional New England “widow’s walk”. In 1992, Cooper, Robertson added a semi-detached Guest Cottage, connected to the main house by a covered, heated breezeway with over-scaled barn doors, in the same architectural language as the original design.